Unique Skills
by BlackWidow2012
Summary: Kirito and Asuna run into two players they never met in the series. Will they turn out to be allies, or enemies? And how will they change not only their fates, but fates of all those trapped within the death game known as Sword Art Online? Read on and find out.


Author's Note: I'm back with a vengeance, baby! To the people who follow my stories, I'm sorry it took so long to post something; and to those who are reading cause they love SAO, I guarantee this won't disappoint. This storyline picks up somewhere before Kirito's fight with The Gleam Eye, but after he and Asuna have started partying together. This is going to be a plot-based story that will have sexual situations (I'll give warnings) so for those who are just looking for a quick thrill, this is not the story for you. Be sure to review and tell me about any grammatical errors I may have made (I am human after all). Constructive criticism is always welcome, but flames are FORBIDDEN. Now, without further ado…on to the adventure!

Disclaimer: I, in no way, own Sword Art Online or its characters. This is purely for enjoyment and I am making no money off of it.

**The Americans**

The sun shone brightly through the leaf-covered branches of the trees, illuminating the forest floor with patches of white light. A gentle breeze had settled over the area and many small animals scurried about aimlessly, enjoying the beautiful weather. These were not the only things taking part in the wonderful conditions as two teenagers walked down a small path the wound through the many trees. One was a boy with medium-length black hair wearing a long, black coat. On his back he wore a single-handed sword with a blade as black as the coat. Next to him strode a slender girl with long orange hair clad in white apparel with red trim and designs. On her hip she wore a single-handed slender white rapier. Suddenly the girl raised her arms above her head and let out a large yawn.

"Ah…I can't remember the last time the weather was good. Thanks for inviting me along, Kirito. I didn't realize how much I needed a break."

"It's no problem, Asuna. It's always good to take a day or two off to unwind."

"Absolutely, being vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath can be really stressful. Especially with how hard the bosses have been getting lately."

At that both Kirito and Asuna grew quite, remembering the last boss they had faced. It had turned out to be more difficult than anyone had anticipated and two people had died during the battle. A dozen others had seen their heath bars go into the red zone and about half of them would've died too if it hadn't have been for some selfless players giving them health potions.

"Yeah," Kirito said. "But with every boss we defeat we get one step closer to beating this damn game."

"Yes." Asuna said, smiling lightly. "Kirito, do you know the first thing I'm going do after I get back to the real world?"

"What?"

"I'm to get a bouquet of roses and spend hours just smelling them."

"Really?"  
"Yeah, what about you? What about you, Kirito? What's the first thing you're going to do?"

"Me?" Kirito said, a large grin growing on his face. "Well, there was this ramen shop that was about five blocks from where I lived, and when I get back I'm going to have whatever hospital I'm at order me five of their largest bowls!"

Kirito threw his arms out for emphasis and narrowly missed hitting Asuna straight in the face if she hadn't ducked in time.

"Hey! Watch it!" She said to him, knocking his arm away. Kirito just stood there with a dumb look on his face, realizing what had almost happened.

"S-sorry, Asuna. I didn't mean to…"

"I know you didn't," Asuna interrupted. "But that doesn't make it okay for not paying atten…"

Asuna's voice trailed off, leaving Kirito just standing there waiting for her to continue.

"Umm, Asuna? Is something wro…"

"SHH!" She said, quickly grabbing Kirito by his shoulder and pulling him down quietly.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, moving his hand to his sword.

"Look." She said simply, pointing off into the woods. Kirito followed her finger and felt his jaw drop slightly at what she was pointing at. There, lying not thirty feet away was a Ragout Rabbit. It was sleeping peacefully on a stump with a ray of sunlight shining down on it as if the game itself was giving it to them as a gift.

"I think I can get close enough to kill it without waking it up." She whispered to him.

"No need." He said with a grin. Before she could ask what he meant, he pulled out a throwing dart from one of the sleeves on his belt. Asuna saw it and quickly understood.

"Is your Throwing Skill high enough?" She asked him.

"Absolutely." He said, raising the dart in preparation. He focused on the rabbit and felt the power growing in his hand as the dart glowed blue. Waiting only one more second, he flung his arm across his body and released the dart at an exact moment. It left his hand and traced a thin blue line through the air as it raced straight for its target. Just as the dart hit the rabbit, another object flashed into existence burying itself into the rabbit at the same time as the dart, the combined momentum of the two objects throwing the rabbit off the stump and sticking it onto a tree behind it.

"WHAT?!" Kirito and Asuna yelled at the same time. A second after they said it, two people walked out of the shadows of the forest and into view. One of them looked at the rabbit, then at them, then back at the rabbit before shaking his head.

"Dammit." They heard him say.

"Who are you?!" Asuna yelled at them, slightly angered that they would dare throw something at her Ragout Rabbit.

"What do you mean 'Who are we?' They other one yelled, sounding just as angered as Asuna. "Who the hell are you?!"

"We're the ones who killed that rabbit!" Asuna yelled back. Suddenly the eyes of the guy she was yelling at widened considerably and Kirito spirits sank as he realized what was about to happen.

"_You_ killed that rabbit?!" He asked incredulously. "No, _we_ killed that rabbit!" He yelled, thrusting his finger in his chest.

"How dare you say that?!" Asuna yelled. "It's OURS!"

"No. It's. OURS!" He yelled before turning back to his friend, who had made his way over to the dead rabbit. "Tell them it's ours, Daniel!"

"I'd love to, Sean." He said, inspecting the rabbit. "But their dart's in there too." To prove his point he grabbed the knife he had thrown and pulled it out of the rabbit. Sure enough it stayed stuck to the tree as Kirito's dart held it there.

"It doesn't matter! I want that rabbit!" He yelled, turning back to Asuna and Kirito.

"Well you can't have it 'cause it ours!" Asuna yelled back, beginning to advance on him. Kirito saw what she was doing and quickly grabbed her around the waist and lifted her in the air before she got too far.

"Let go of me, Kirito!" She yelled, struggling to get out of his grasp.

"No, Asuna! It's not worth it!" He yelled back.

"Ha! Told it was ours. Even your friend there thinks so."

Kirito suddenly froze, his eyes twitching slightly at the thought of losing such a delicious meal.

"I NEVER SAID THAT! THE RABBIT'S OURS!" Kirito shouted, his voice even louder than Asuna's. Asuna herself had stopped struggling in surprise at how violently he had reacted.

"Hold up, hold up." The other guy said, drawing everybody's attention. "I'm sure there's a way we can solve this.

"Yeah! We get the rabbit!" All three of them yelled simultaneously before glaring back at each other. They guy put his face in his hand at the stubbornness in front of him. Sure he wanted the rabbit, he REALLY wanted that rabbit, but this shouting match wasn't going to get him it.

"How 'bout we duel for it?!" Kirito yelled, setting a surprised Asuna down. She looked at him for a second before grinning and turning back to the two. Between them they could easily win the rabbit. The two guys in front of them looked equally as surprised at the suggestion and shared a questioning glance at each other. They both smiled and nodded at each other before turning back to look at them.

"You're on!" The loud one yelled.  
"Great!" Kirito said. Then he started looking at their surroundings. "Ummm, is there a better place we could do this though?"

Both guys lost the competitive glare in their eyes and looked around as well, both of them realizing a small path in the middle of the forest wasn't the best spot for a duel.

"Uhhhh, yeah." The loud one said. "There's a clearing farther down the path that should be good."

"Yeah, that'll do just fine." The other one said, pulling Kirito's dart out of the rabbit and grabbing it.

"Follow us." He said, throwing the dart back at Kirito. Not even flinching he caught it between his fingers causing the guy to smirk and raise his eyebrows at him before turning around and walking down the path. Kirito put the dart back into its sleeve and followed the two down the path, Asuna falling into step beside him.

"Did you catch that?" Kirito whispered to her.

"Yeah." She replied softly. "When he threw the dart back to you he was testing you out, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, be ready. These guys may be tougher than the usual people."

"Alright." She said.

As they walked farther down the path, Kirito studied his soon-to-be adversaries. The one who was yelling at Asuna, Sean if he recalled correctly, seemed to be the tougher of the two. He was slightly taller than his companion by about half an inch and had a very well-defined musculature. Even as he walked, Kirito could see the bulges in his arms, legs, and back. He wore a blue, sleeveless tunic that was clearly worn and frayed in various places. His pants were the same style as his tunic; blue, frayed, and torn off just above the knee. His boots were of completely different style though, as they were black and polished to a high sheen. A black leather belt was connected around his waist and hanging from it on the left side of his hip was a cutlass style sword.

His companion, while looking to be the lesser of the two, was definitely not to be written off as 'weak' by any measure. While he didn't have the musculature of his friend, there was definitely no denying that it was there. If Kirito had to guess he body type he'd have called him athletic; his arms, legs, and torso being of slim build. He wore a loose brown tunic with black trim around the arms and neck. His pants were a darker brown and extended all the way down to his ankles. His boots were the same black as his friend's, but not polished to the same high, mirror-like sheen. He wore a simple black leather belt and hanging from it on the right side was the same knife that he had thrown at the ragout. The only things the two seemed to share was their haircuts, both being cut to about an inch, and their affinity for one-handed weapons.

"What do you think about them, Kirito?" Asuna asked him quietly.

"I think the one with the cutlass is our biggest threat." He answered, leaning in so as not to be overheard. "But we shouldn't underestimate the other one. I don't believe the knife is his real weapon."

"I thought so too. What type of weapon do you think he really uses?"

"I don't know. But I'm sure he's got some kind of secret he doesn't want us to know."

Just as he said the words the tree line ended and the four stepped out into a wide, circular clearing. Looking around, Kirito saw a small campfire with two simple tents on opposite sides.

"Here we are." The one named Sean announced, turning around to face them. "So how's about we get this party started!?" As he said that he brought out his menu and tapped a few buttons. Kirito's and Asuna's menus both dropped down at the same time with the same message.

"Duel. Type: Two vs. Two. Players: Kirito & Asuna vs. Sean & Daniel. Style: First Hit. Reward: Ragout Rabbit. Accept-Decline."

Kirito and Asuna both looked at each other before pressing the 'Accept' button. Their menus disappeared and they looked up in time to see Daniel press 'Accept' on his menu. As it disappeared a countdown clock appeared between them, counting down from sixty.

"Kirito, I want to go first." Asuna said bluntly. Kirito looked at her in slight surprise before nodding in consent.

"If you want to." Was all he said.

"It is." With that, Asuna stepped forward two paces before drawing Lambent Light, its white blade gleaming bright in the sun. The one name Sean stared at the powerful looking black for a second before grinning slightly.

"Looks like you two are going to be tougher than I thought." He said. "What do ya' think, Dan? Should I go full gear on this one?"

His friend looked both Asuna and Kirito up and down before answering.

"It's a safe bet."

"It's settled then." Sean said, reaching down and undoing his belt buckle with his left hand. Before Kirito or Asuna could react he ripped it off, the leather flying through the belt loops and into the air. The second it left his waist though, the leather seem to take on a life of its own and began wrapping itself around his arm. Meanwhile, the metal buckle began to glow brightly before expanding into a round buckler-style shied with a star embossing the front. His clothes also began to glow and they also changed, forming into a set of blue steel-plate armor. By the time it was all done he looked like a battle-ready soldier.

"You like?" Sean asked cockily, drawing his cutlass. "It's called the 'Hardened Veteran' armor and it does a pretty good job of lulling people into a false sense of security."

Before Asuna could say anything the timer above their heads hit zero and changed into a large 'Begin'. Just as it did so Sean charged forward at full speed, slashing at Asuna with his sword. Asuna recovered from her surprised just in time, ducking under his first slash and parrying his second. Sean quickly reversed direction and dropping into a crouch, spinning in a full three-sixty and aiming for her legs. Asuna saw this and jumped over the attack, doing a mid-air back flip before landing. Sean pressed the attack, coming at her quickly with an overhand slash. Asuna decided to go on the offensive and aimed a rapid thrust straight at his chest. Sean brought his shield up just in time and blocked her thrust, but he underestimated the amount of power behind it and stumbled backwards a few steps. Asuna saw her opening and the roles suddenly shifted as her blade glowed blue and she attacked with a quick series of rapid slashes and thrusts. Sean found himself backpedaling as he struggled to keep up with the speed of Asuna's attacks, blocking and parrying as best he could. Eventually, Sean stumbled on a small rock and Asuna chose that moment to capitalize.

Bringing her blade black, she let it power up and aimed for his chest before stabbing forward with a powerful thrust and a small yell. Sean saw this and knew he only had one chance. Bringing his shield up, he put both arms behind it for leverage and angled it upward so as to deflect Asuna's blade. Her attack hit his shield half a second after he brought it up and her sword bounced off the shield thanks to the angle, sending Asuna stumbling forward slightly. Sean was already moving though, and sent his own glowing blade towards Asuna's chest. Reacting quickly, Asuna spun to her left and barely avoided being hit. Before she could get set though, Sean had brought his sword around so that Asuna was stepping into the slash. She saw this and deftly brought her sword down to parry, but the power of the attack and her own unsure footing sent her flying backwards. She flew through the air for about two meters before hitting the ground on her feet. She put her hand on the ground to steady herself as her momentum caused her to slide across the ground an additional meter, stopping a few feet short of the forest tree line.

"You're pretty good." Sean said as she stood up. "Definitely tougher than I thought you'd be."

"As are you." Asuna said.

"Thank you. But I do believe it's time to end our little bout."

"As do I." Sean smirked at her remark before bringing his sword and shield into a ready position. Asuna did the same, preparing for any attack that Sean may deliver. They both stood there for a second before Sean came at her, leading with his shield and yelling as he ran. As Sean approached Asuna's view of his sword was blocked by his shield, meaning she was going to have no clue as to the direction of his attack until the very last second. Her grip tightened on the handle of her blade as Sean came closer and closer, until he was finally within sword-reach of her. Once he was, he raised his shield and swung his blade in a series of powerful slashes. Asuna dodged and parried the attacks easily but stayed aware, knowing that those attacks were just a prelude to his final one.

Just as she thought, the second she parried a relatively slow slash Sean reversed direction quickly and brought his blade around at a blinding speed, aiming for her legs. Once again, Asuna performed a back flip to avoid the attack, this time feeling Sean's blade knick the bottom of her shoe as she jumped over it. About halfway through her back flip, Asuna's feet planted on a large limb of a tree which she used to stop her momentum. Charging her attack, she pushed off the tree and launched herself through the air at Sean, her blade a blur as she repeatedly thrust at him. Sean was caught off guard by the move and barely brought his shield up in time to block her attacks. The power of the multitude of thrusts began to overwhelm him and one hit the shield hard enough to leave him exposed. Asuna smirked as she aimed her final trust to hit right between her opponent's eyes.

"Steel Flesh!" Sean yelled as the sword passed by his shield. Not a second later, Asuna's blade hit right where she aimed it but bounced harmless off his face without leaving so much as a scratch. Asuna was so dumbfounded as to what just happened that she didn't even see Sean's sword come up and jab her in the gut. The pain registered just before she hit the ground in a tumbled heap.

"What the hell was that?" Asuna yelled, clutching her gut both in pain and in disbelief at her loss.

"That," Sean answered with a smile. "Is a unique ability called Armor Flesh. It allows it's user to make their skin as tough as armor and unfortunately for you, I'm the one who has it."

"No fair." She mumbled getting back to her feet.

"Maybe," He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But that's how it is. Now would you mind getting off the battlefield so me and Blackie over there can finish the duel?"

Asuna scowled at him before walking out of the clearing and next to Kirito. He gave her a light health potion that she gratefully accepted.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"I'm fine." She said, wiping her mouth of the potion. "But I'll be a lot better once you kick his ass."

"Well," He said with a smile. "I'll get right to it, then."

Asuna returned his smile before accepting a pat on the shoulder from him. He then turned and entered into the clearing, drawing Elucidator from its sheath as he approached Sean, who gave his new opponent a good once-over.

"I have to admit, that is quite an impressive-looking sword you've got there. You must be pretty cocky to go against me with no armor or shield to go with it."

"It's only cockiness if you don't have the skill to back it up."

"And you're saying you do?"

"Why don't we get this started so you can find out?"

"If you insist." Sean said nonchalantly. He then launched a powerful three-hit combo at Kirito, leading with two quick slashes meant to distract him before following with a massive thrust aimed at his midsection. Kirito easily saw through the two distracting slashed and parried them away without effort. Then quickly dodged to the left to simultaneously avoid the thrust and end up on his opponent's non-shield side. When his sword hit nothing but open air, the power behind his thrust caused Sean to stumble forward to keep his balance. This left him wide open to Kirito, who had already begun to deliver a strike right at Sean's exposed neck. Sean saw the dangerous attack and brought his shield behind his head in time to block the strike. Even though he managed to block the impressive attack, the power behind it sent him flying forward and into the dirt.

Recovering quickly, Sean leapt to his feet and brought his shield up in preparation for another attack. Instead he just saw Kirito standing exactly where he had been before with a small smirk.

"You still think I'm cocky?" He asked.

"You've definitely got some skill, I can't deny that." Sean said evenly. "But it doesn't mean you've got enough to beat me."

"That's where you'd be wrong. You see, you lost your biggest advantage in this duel when you fought Asuna."

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"Surprise." Kirito said simply. Then, before Sean could even prepare to defend himself, Kirito was right in front of him with Elucidator coming straight for his neck.


End file.
